Editorial: Was it really the Saints' destiny, or is that just crazy talk?

BECAUSE THE New Orleans Saints come from a place where a Catholic priest can wear a Drew Brees jersey to Mass on Super Bowl Sunday, there’s some philosophical question as to what was behind their historic season topped by a joyous celebration that’s still going. Was the come-from-behind victory the well-deserved payoff for 43 years of loyalty in the face of futility? Was Super Bowl Sunday the day New Orleans put aside the specter of Hurricane Katrina? Or were the Saints simply a better football team than the Indianapolis Colts? Was it destiny that the Saints recovered the onside kick, or was it an audacious gamble by brilliant coach, Sean Payton? Turns out, kicker Thomas Morstead had been practicing for a week and a half. Was it destiny that caused Tracy Porter to intercept Peyton Manning, just as he had intercepted Brett Favre at a crucial moment in the NFC Championship game two weeks earlier? Or was it, as Mr. Porter said, a case of watching a lot of film and recognizing the formation? Was it destiny, or is Mr. Brees in fact a better quarterback than Kurt Warner, Mr. Favre or Mr. Manning, the great ones whose teams went down in succession on the Saints’ Super Bowl drive? Mr. Brees tied a Super Bowl record by completing 32 passes, and he was named the MVP. So perhaps it was both: destiny, and the best team in the National Football League. It was very satisfying to live on the Gulf Coast Sunday and watch Saints fans — and players — giddily roaming the field in Miami long after the game was over. On Monday, the Nielsen Co. said the Saints Super Bowl was the most-watched program in U.S. television history — besting the final episode of M*A*S*H in 1983 by a score of 106.5 million to 105.97 million viewers. Hm-m-m ... 1983. That would be the same year Saints fans started the “Who Dat” thing. Destiny, or just coincidence?